The Whole Enchilada finds new home for Mexican take-out at Tiny Apple Store in Bay City

It's the same great food, just a different location." – Gary Armendarez

BAY CITY, MI —Gary Armendarez began cooking authentic Mexican food 22 years ago using ingredients and techniques he learned from his mother.

“All recipes come from her,” he said.

Armendarez, the chef and owner of The Whole Enchilada, operated his Mexican take-out business from a food truck for two-and-a-half years before seizing an opportunity on Dec. 19 to set up shop indoors. Now he has “combined forces” with Tiny Apple Store and moved in at 411 Lafayette Ave. in Bay City.

Tiny Apple Store still sells doughnuts, muffins, chips and salsa at the location, while Armendarez cooks Mexican food to go. Armendarez’s menu includes tacos, enchiladas, burritos and nachos, which feature authentic barbacoa, carnitas, tamale and menudo meat. All dishes also can be made vegetarian. Prices range from $1 to $8, and weekly specials are available throughout winter.

“It’s the same great food, just a different location,” he said.

Winter hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and Armendarez plans to extend hours in March to 6 p.m. and include Saturday. He said he intends to further extend hours for the summer. Armendarez hopes the new eatery attracts more customers because at his previous location some people were reluctant to order food from a truck —especially in bad weather, he said.

“I think the combination of the elements and people being skeptical eating out of a trailer (hurt business),” he said.

Armendarez said he enjoys cooking in his new kitchen because he doesn’t have to worry about working in extreme temperatures.

“It’s a lot better,” he said. “You don’t have to deal with 20- to 30-degree weather in the trailer,” he said, adding the temperature in the old truck would get up to 110 degrees in the summer.

“It made sense to add authentic Mexican food take-out,” said Slachta, who also operates the Tiny Apple Orchard — known for its ice cream and outdoor seating environment in the warmer months — at 2282 E. Salzburg Road in Monitor Township.

While Slachta’s business at the Tiny Apple Store focuses on manufacturing and distribution, Armendarez’s business focuses more on retail. Slachta said Tiny Apple Store also has plans to become a distributor of authentic Mexican food.

“It really is one business now, but I think it’s very important that the two businesses have joined together,” he said.

Armendarez said his mission is to get the word out about his business so old customers can find him and new customers can discover him. He said his long-term goal is to one day own a restaurant where people can sit down and eat.

“Eventually I could work it into a restaurant someday,” he said. “I got my foot in the door.”